November platform updates

So many new platform updates this month! We further improved Automations, streamlined Datastream settings, added new features in Pages, new widgets, new security feature, added ability to hide widgets through a hardware command, and lots of other cool stuff. Read more below and, as always, share your feedback with us on our forum.

What’s in my Datastream?

‍Sometimes for debugging purposes you may need to check the latest Datastream value. Now you can do this and much more. Go to Blynk.Console > Device -> Datastreams tab.

This tab displays the current value of all Datastreams. It also shows any applied properties. Every time you send something from the device or from the app will be logged here.

Moreover, you can get an URL of the Datastream to check or update values with HTTPs API or even from the browser. Just open the URL in the new browser tab and play with parameters.

Read more in documentation

LED Widget in Blynk.Console

‍First of all, we’ve added an LED widget which you can now use in your web interfaces. Secondly, you can change its color brightness. Add a brightness Datastream from 0-100, then add an LED widget and attach it to this Datastream.

‍Faster OTA updates for individual devices

‍Now you can access firmware over-the-air updates directly from device menu:

Pages became even more flexible

‍Remember new revolutionary feature: Pages? Now you can do more with them.

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New “Welcome to Device” Page

‍Today we add a new type of Page which can appear right after device was added (provisioned).

For example, you can explain to users how your product works right after they’ve added a new device.

‍Change a target page from hardware

‍Any Button Widget (and there are 4 different button types you can use) can open another Page in the app. But what if you want to show different pages in different scenarios?

The new setProperty command allows you to change a target page directly from your hardware.

Read more in documentation

Switch Device Modes with Automations

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In the last update we added Delays to Automations. Now Automations got even more powerful with support for ENUM datastreams.

Imagine your device can operate in 3 modes: AUTO, MODE 1, and MODE 2. Now these modes can be switched on and off within the Automation scenario.

For example: Every Monday at 9AM set the device to MODE 2, wait till 5PM and then switch to AUTO.

To make this work you would need an ENUM Datastream with meaningful values. Don’t forget to expose it to Automations in the Datastream Settings.

Hide widgets from hardware

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Ever dreamt of pressing a button on your hardware and making some (or all) of the widgets disappear? Now you can do it with the new setProperty parameter: isHidden.

Just send this command from your hardware:

‍Blynk.setProperty(V1, "isHidden", true);

‍This will hide the widget using specified Datastream. Be careful though as it can create holes in your GUI. Plan ahead.

Read more in documentation

Automatic Logout

‍Add more security to your Blynk accounts by setting an automatic Logout. When this is feature is turned on, we will log you out after a certain period of inactivity.We hope recent improvements will make your experience with Blynk even more efficient. You are always welcome to share your impressions at out forum.